Late Tuesday evening, the city of Wheeling was hit by a double derecho, which left widespread damage and destruction. According to National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks, Derechos are “an evolution of thunderstorms, characterized by having very fast, forward speed to them, sometimes 50-plus miles per hour, leading in the directions the storms are moving,” Hendricks said. “When those storms collapse, you end up having downbursts ahead of them, and you can get winds 65 to 75 miles per hour, quite easily. They tend to have paths where you’ll see a series of downbursts in the path of the derecho’s area.
The events of Tuesday evening continued well into the early hours of Wednesday. Wind speeds of up to 70mph shook up the city, uprooting hundreds of trees. Due to the tremendous amount of trees in the Wheeling area, many of the trees that were toppled took down several power lines with them. This led to thousands of residents in Ohio County being left in the dark and cold. Governor Jim Justice declared a state of emergency and mentioned that it would remain in effect for the next 30 days. As part of the emergency declaration, the governor has directed the West Virginia Emergency Management Division to implement the West Virginia Emergency Operations Plan. This includes mobilizing the appropriate personnel and resources to respond to the weather emergency and facilitating the provision of essential emergency services.
While the lightning and thunder echoed through the city, the city’s firefighters were out in full steam. One team responded to a call where an electrical fire had set a building’s rooftop ablaze. Unfortunately, three fighters were injured on site. Two suffered electric shocks and another fell from dangerous heights, with all three being escorted to the hospital.
Most of the damages in Wheeling occurred in Wheeling Park. Authorities set out on Wednesday to assess the damages, and it was confirmed that it would take weeks to bring the park back to life. Clean-up teams came out across the city, attempting to clear roadways and repair the damages caused by the storm. The storm, unfortunately, also claimed the life of a young woman.
If your roofing system suffered any storm damage it’s advised to see to it immediately. Our professional roofing team at MHI Roofing is available to help you with all your storm roof damage needs. Give us a call today for a free estimate.